Emergency management experts recommend having enough food, water, and supplies to shelter in place for at least 72 hours after a disaster. As we all know, a power outage can last longer. The major January 2026 winter storm that tracked across several states left hundreds of thousands without power for days. Recently, Nebraskans experienced similar disruptions in when severe winter weather and summer storms damaged infrastructure and caused outages across Nebraska. These events are clear reminders of why planning ahead matters and why having resources “at the ready” are important!
Lights Out Cooking: 72-Hour Emergency Preparedness Cookbook provides simple, flexible recipes that can be prepared with limited resources during a power outage. The cookbook includes guidance for building emergency food and water supplies, tips for using alternative cooking methods, and food safety checklists for what to keep and what to toss.
This resource not only supports families during long outages but also gives Extension staff an easy, practical way to teach emergency preparedness. Anyone in any office no matter their role or program area can refer to this resource and even integrate Lights Out Cooking into their programming.
This cookbook was recently featured nationally through the National Extension Disaster Education Network, highlighting its value as an emergency preparedness and response resource for educators across the country. You can watch the recorded webinar here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCqqqmFtlpU&t=4s
What’s Available
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• All Nebraska Extension offices received a printed reference copy in 2025 to keep on hand for local use.
• A PowerPoint presentation is available for faculty and staff to help incorporate emergency preparedness information and cookbook content into workshops and programs. Visit “Just in Time” resources for faculty and staff - https://uofnebraska.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/UNL-NebraskaEDEN/IgDqT15n98-QSJrb_-i2DktWAblsTh8Fwa5W5IkSxXYltGo?e=wge6hT
• Digital and spiral-bound printed versions are now available on Marketplace (https://marketplace.unl.edu/extension/extpubs/disasteredandsafety) in English and Spanish.
If you plan to include the cookbook as part of an educational program, contact Cindy Brison (cbrison1@unl.edu) or Soni Cochran (scochran2@unl.edu) for a participant discount code, PEARS evaluation link, or printable materials.
Soni Cochran, scochran2@unl.edu